The Detective, the Clockmaker, and the Herbal Healer
by MadHare0512
Summary: Contrary to popular belief, Hank didn't meet Monroe and Rosalee when Nick first began his relationship with them.


The Detective, the Clockmaker, and the Herbal Healer

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

**AU: Canon Divergence, Altered Timeline**

Contrary to popular belief, Hank didn't meet Monroe and Rosalee when Nick first began his relationship with them. He didn't meet them when Nick moved his things from the room he'd rented from Juliette (his best friend from college) to the house Monroe had bought long ago and now wanted to share with his two lovers or when Happy Lasser's blew up with him inside. He met them when a man turned up dead with his hand cut off and watch that no longer worked strapped to his wrist. Or he met Monroe at least. Rosalee had been at the shop.

When he saw the watch, Hank's first thought was to see if someone could trace it. He'd heard a laugh from his younger partner when he'd asked and turned to find Nick's smirk gazing back at him. "What?" he'd asked, placing the watch back in its evidence bag.

"You're lucky I know one of the best clockmakers," Nick grinned and waved for him to follow. "Come on, I'll call him."

Hank rushed after Nick, yelling after him not to touch anything. They were driving his car today and he'd be damned if he let Nick drive it. Nick chuckled and gave him the address and directions, dialing the number as he slid into the passenger seat. Hank raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you go there often, you know how to get there that easily"

"I should know how to get there that easily, it _is_ my home," Nick replied brightly.

Hank did a double-take, nearly slamming on the brakes. "It's your _what!_"

Nick laughed, answering the phone's beeping and the person's hello, "Hey, it's me. Yes, I know you have a caller ID. It's for a case, can you trace an antique watch?" he paused for a moment, listening, "We found it on our murder victim. I'm with my partner, we're coming now."

Hank heard the voice on the other end say, "Oh, I get it. Be cool, wear pants," with a teasing tone.

Nick smiled, voice warm as opposed to the clipped, slightly frosty way he usually sounded. "Pants would be nice, yes. Okay, see you in a bit. Love you."

Hank raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. They showed up on the doorstep of a house with a stained-glass window picturing a wolf in the door. It was beautiful, but something like danger shot a chill up Hank's spine. Nick pulled out his keys and let himself in. "We're here!" he called, looking around.

"In the kitchen, Nicky!" called back a very _male_ voice. This was not a problem, of course, Nick had told Hank about Monroe and Rosalee on a long stakeout one night. He figured Hank should know so he could switch partners if he wanted. Hank had never really cared; if Nick was happy with them, then Hank was happy for him. The man was tall, taller than Hank and _way_ taller than Nick, with brown hair and eyes and a thin built. He wore flannel, so this must be Monroe. Nick had once joked that the day Monroe didn't wear a flannel would be the day the world ended. Nick had once also joked that Monroe was a lumberjack, but that wasn't important.

Monroe approached Nick with a smile, drawing him into a side-hug, which was happily returned, and then extending a hand to Hank, "Good morning, though not so good with a murder, I suppose. You must be Hank. Nick never stops talking about his partner."

"That's me. You're Monroe, right? He never stops talking about you or Rosalee either." Hank gave him an easygoing grin.

Monroe glanced at Nick, "Coffee's done, Nicky, I know you didn't get any this morning with the way you tore out of here in a hurry. On the counter."

Nick's eyes lit up, "You're a Godsend, Monroe," he said seriously, then rushed into the kitchen.

Monroe hummed out a laugh and looked back at Hank, "Love the kid, but his caffeine addiction in insatiable. Now, where's this watch I'm looking at?"

Hank handed it over. "Does he drink coffee at home as much as he does at work?"

Monroe was half distracted by the watch but he shook his head. "He doesn't drink that much coffee. He hates waking up early, so I usually make him a cup before he goes to work. The rest of the time, it's tea, water, or juice. He drinks tea because it has just as much caffeine, he drinks water and juice because they give you more energy. I just didn't get to make him anything this morning, he left in such a hurry."

Hank nodded, then Monroe was murmuring to himself, "Vintage Lusina, very nice." He raised a hand, "I'm gonna have to get in there and check a few details. You mind if I...?"

Hank nodded, "Forensics cleared it, you're good to go." Monroe was lost to his mind after that, so he simply watched and waited for Nick to emerge from the kitchen, unsurprised to find him holding a blue mug with a hand-painted police badge on it. The cup steamed with the heat of the liquid inside it, but Nick was unbothered, holding the cup with both hands and drinking it like it was the last source of water anywhere on the planet. They waited patiently while Monroe looked over the watch, putting on glasses and sitting at the table. He told them a few facts about the watch that Hank didn't find particularly interesting, but Nick hummed at in between drinks of his coffee.

It was surprisingly domestic, Hank decided. He hoped one day to find something like that for himself if he found the right woman.

Hank was distracted from his thoughts as Monroe spoke up, "Valjoux movement. 72 c, to be exact." the older male squinted at the watch, glasses reflecting the light on the desk. "Triple calendar. Wow," Monroe murmured. "Just pure beauty."

Hank glanced at Nick, seeing the amusement dancing in his eyes. He caught Nick's gaze and shot a glance at Monroe, raising an eyebrow to complete the question, _Is he always like that?_

Nick nodded, jokingly rolling his eyes, _Always._ Hank could see the fondness in his eyes that said Nick wasn't truly annoyed.

Monroe came over, holding out the watch, "Here, check it out." He pointed out a little piece and Hank leaned in, "Triple complications. That's day, date, month to the layman. It was probably made in the '30s." Monroe sat back down, going back to pouring over the details of the watch.

Nick stepped closer with a hum, "What about the engraving?"

"Professional. Could've been done by any engraver, anytime, anywhere." Monroe took the back off of the watch to look at the gears, setting both the back and the battery on the desk. "Oh, this is tragic."

"What?" Nick asked, immediately on alert. He knew that tone.

Monroe turned the watch under the light. "Some jerk put _glue _in the movement. This watch is destroyed. I wanna weep."

Hank tilted his head, "Why would someone do that?"

Monroe's rasp spoke of an angry growl that he refused to let loose. "To stop it from working."

Nick's mind spun, "Maybe they wanted to stop it on a specific time and date."

"Glue would certainly guarantee that." Monroe huffed, turning the watch to look at the time and date. "10:15, March 11th."

Nick nodded, setting his mug on the table, "Any way you could tell us who the owner is?"

"Original movement number maybe... or a service mark. I'll make some calls. Whoever serviced this will definitely remember it."

"How long will that take?" Hank asked.

"A couple of minutes if they've got all the paperwork. There's still coffee in the kitchen, help yourself. Nick knows where it is." Monroe grabbed his phone and dialed a number.

Nick hummed, "Thank you, 'Roe. C'mon Hank, Monroe makes the best coffee." He led the way to the kitchen, Hank followed quickly.

"He's a little weird, isn't he?" Hank asked.

Nick reached for a spare mug, standing on the balls of his feet just a bit, and pulled down a white and black checkered one, "Spends his life fixing clocks. Other hobbies include cello and consulting work for the precinct. He's also at Rosalee's spice-shop a lot of the time, helping out there."

Hank leaned against the corner as Nick poured Hank some coffee and handed it over, "You think March 11th has something to do with Vince Chilton?"

"Maybe, or the Judge," Nick replied.

"What about Mary, the name on the watch?"

"Maybe March 11th connects all three of them together somehow." Nick tilted his head, blue snapping with the firing connections in his mind. Smartest detective Hank had met in a long time.

"Maybe all four of them, killer included. But March 11th of what year?" Hank wondered.

"Maybe we're looking at some kind of zodiac killer here."

"Hey, I've got something, actually." Monroe came rushing in, "Turns out, the watch was first purchased in 1933 by a Steven Armstrong- he gave it to his wife as a wedding present. She-"

"1933? Who owns it now?" Hank interrupted.

"Yeah, but I've got the whole history." Monroe protested.

"And that's great, really, but we just need to know who owns it now," Nick replied gently. Don't get him wrong, he'd love to stand with Monroe and discuss the watch's history all day, but he had a case to close. He'd listen to the history tonight.

"Oh," Monroe realized. "I get it, okay. Just the facts, right? Okay," Monroe glanced back down at the paper. "Let's see, the watch was last serviced last here in Portland, actually, two months ago. For Mary Robinson." Hank came to a startling realization then and he had to get to Mary then and there.

Nick rushed after him, setting his mug by the sink and grabbing the evidence bag. "Thanks, 'Roe. See you at dinner,"

Hank didn't hear Monroe's response before he was fleeing out the front door.

_Grimm~Grimm~Grimm_

With Mary dead and no new leads, Nick headed home for dinner. Hank got the call twenty-six minutes later. Wu had come over to speak with him about it, but Monroe had called Hank directly. "Nick wanted you to know. He also said something about making sure you didn't do anything stupid. So, you know, don't do anything stupid." Monroe said. His first thought was to Monroe and Rosalee. "Who was home?" he asked.

Wu hummed, "Nick was the only one there when he was attacked, but Rosalee Calvert came in later. If she hadn't, who knows."

"Is Rosalee okay?"

"She didn't get hurt," Wu replied softly, understanding Hank's concerns. Detectives had partners, they grew close, they ate at each others' houses, they met each others' families, Hank was so worried for his younger partner. So, as he slipped away from the Captain and Wu, he reasoned with himself that he didn't want anyone else hurt, he wanted to ease the pain, he wanted to lock this guy up for good.

He wanted this bastard _dead._ How dare he go after Nick.

He rushed to the hospital, hoping to God Nick was okay. When he came into the room, a brunette lady was with him. Nick was asleep, the morphine dripping into the IV connected to his arm. Rosalee looked rumpled, tears in her eyes. She looked up upon Hank's enter. "You must be Hank. Nick's told us all about you. Monroe just went on an errand, he'll be back soon."

"I won't be long, I just wanted to see how he was." Hank stepped inside the room, offering his hand. "You must be Rosalee."

"That's me." Rosalee shot a glance at Nick, who murmured restlessly in his sleep. "They keep telling me to go home and get some rest, but I just can't leave him. They're willing to set up a cot, but I have to go home tomorrow." She wrapped her hands around her waist and sniffled.

Hank's anger burned as he watched the heartbroken woman try not to cry. "It's alright, Rosalee. I'm going to find the guy that did this."

Rosalee nodded. "I appreciate it, Hank."

"If you want to go and grab something from the cafeteria or something, I can stay with him a while." Hank offered.

Rosalee sniffled, "Yeah. Okay, I'll get something. I'll be back soon. His nurse's name is Freddie, the Doctor should be coming around again soon."

Hank spoke to Nick, letting the younger know he was sorry for getting him into this mess. He also told him about the 'misplaced' evidence tape and that he wasn't about to follow the plan. He was going to do something _very _stupid. Rosalee came back a few moments later and Nick glanced at her like he was deciding if he should tell her or not. Hank left before he could. Nick called after him, almost tried to stand before the pain reminded him not to. Rosalee chased after him, calling his name.

He stopped, "Rosalee?"

Rosalee glanced back to the room. "Look, I'm not going to be the one to tell you what to do, but please don't get yourself killed. I don't think Nick could handle it right now."

Hank paused, looking at Rosalee in surprise. "What?"

Rosalee's eyes flashed, "I don't want this guy to get away and neither does Monroe, but we can't do anything about it. You can. Don't be stupid. When your done, come back and let Nick know you're alive. He'll tear himself up over it until he sees you again."

Hank nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

Rosalee smiled, "Good. Now go get this bastard."

With her blessing, Hank ran the rest of the wat to his car. He saw Monroe getting out of the car and waved, Monroe waved back and took a phone call. Then he was running over, "Hank!"

Hank raised an eyebrow.

Monroe puffed, holding out a case. "Listen, Nick wanted to give it to you, but you left before I got here. It's registered in his name and everything. He thinks it'll help."

Hank took the case and nodded, "Okay. Thank you, Monroe. I'll be back later. Tell Nick I'll be fine."

Monroe nodded back and glanced around, then headed into the hospital.

Hank was glad Nick had such good caretakers. Maybe he didn't know about Rosalee's conversation with him or the murderous glint in Monroe's eyes as he handed over the gun, but that was okay. Hank did.

And it was with vindication that he check Stark's pulse and found him dead. He set the gun down, knowing well that he found be found innocent. His gun was fired in self-defense. Nick would have it back by the week's end.

He turned away from the body. He had a body to call in and a partner to see.

Everything else could wait.


End file.
